BusinessTN

According to Janet Ivey, creator and host of the children’s television series, Janet’s Planet, “Einstein said, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.’” Ivey takes such words to heart when exploring the universe in the fast-paced, educational series for children ages six to ten. Now in its tenth year of broadcasting, Janet’s Planet airs on more than 144 public television stations nationwide and has won nine Midsouth Emmy and four Gracie Allen awards.

Ivey has 18 years experience acting in national commercials, voiceovers and radio, but it was the Belmont University graduate's performance in The Opryland Kid’s Club in 2000 that caught the attention of Sona Jho, a producer of Nashville Public Television (NPT). That year, Ivey created Janet’s Planet in partnership with NPT, featuring segments of one-to-two minute episodes produced in Hendersonville. Soon after, the intergalactic-themed series began developing short, interstitial episodes for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt on health, nutrition and safety.

When Janet’s Planet began to blast off, Ivey reached out to Richard Godwin, a consultant for billionaire investor Richard Branson’s company, Virgin Galactic, who suggested Ivey attend the Space Investment Summit in 2008. As a result, the Janet’s Planet DVD, “Your Guide to the Universe,” landed in the hands of Percy Luney, vice president of education for Space Florida.

“Space Florida had a mandate from the Stephen Hawking Foundation to take microgravity to the Florida classroom,” Ivey says. Luney selected Ivey to board a flight at zero gravity and release a 35-minute DVD called “Exploring Microgravity” in April 2009, which the Florida Department of Education adopted to promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. Similarly, the Tennessee Department of Education plans to partner with Ivey as part of its Race to the Top initiative.

In May 2010, the universe of Janet’s Planet expanded again. During this year's Space Investment Summit, Ivey was chosen as one of six entrepreneurs to present her business plan to investors, venture capitalists and space industry leaders like NASA and Boeing. Also in attendance, the legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin invited Ivey to join his team of space education ambassadors. “The credibility and validation he provides by championing Janet’s Planet is pretty incredible,” Ivey says.

Aldrin, like many others, recognizes the gaps in national science education. In the United States, Ivey says, “A fourth grade student ranks eighth in the world in science. By the time they reach eighth grade, they have dropped down to 11th.”

Why does the United States trail behind countries like Estonia and Hungary? “We don’t have very much agreement as a country about what it is that we’re trying to accomplish in science,” says Leona Schauble, professor of education at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.

When combined with “today’s hyper-emphasis on subject matters like mathematics and reading that are heavily tested,” Schauble says science often slips through the cracks. Yet, lower grade levels seem to fare better, which Schauble says may partly result from informal learning sources like Janet’s Planet. “The television shows, the books, the games, the magazines—those are not available in every country,” Schauble says. Early testing of the “Exploring Microgravity” DVD showed improvements in B and C students when taught the same material with the digital component as opposed to only audibly. “The way we traditionally teach does not work for every student,” Ivey says. “Education has to adapt with 21st century technology.”

As the first children’s live-action, 3D television series, Janet’s Planet aims to be at the forefront of such technology,. But for now, Ivey plans to take small steps toward gaining financial partners—and perhaps one day syndication by a national network—in order to take a giant leap in space science education.